fun. 9.24.09 | Schuba’s | Chicago, IL by Ashley Snider photos by Annette Essey Fun, the new brainchild of Nate Ruess, formerly of The Format, were playing one of the last shows of their very first headlining tour in the small room tucked in the back of a bar that is Schuba’s in Chicago. Their debut album, Aim & Ignite, was released at the end of August. It is a quirky combination of indie rock and pop. A pop album without the cliché sugary sweetness and dumbed down lyrics and with more, let’s say, genuine qualities than traditional things that come to mind when one hears the word “pop.”
The show in Chicago sold out weeks in advance, and this tiny room was quickly packed. When the band walked through a door from outside and marched up the few stairs to the stage, the crowd let out a roar of applause, hoots and hollers that didn’t settle down for a few minutes. Band members took their places; Ruess approached the microphone and softly sang the opening line to “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used To Be).” The song has a rhythmic reggae quality to it (complete with keyboardist/guitarist Andrew Dost playing the steel drum setting on his keyboard). Needless to say, the crowd was immediately feeling good, singing along and swaying. As the song quieted down again, the audience once again applauded and screamed to the point that Ruess couldn’t continue singing. He started smiling and laughing every time he attempted to sing. The crowd would not quiet down. The whole band was genuinely overflowing with excitement and humble appreciation. After several failed attempts to finish the song, Ruess eventually got the song moving again, and the band launched into a set that included every track off Aim & Ignite, plus two Format songs.
“Walking The Dog” produced such a stir within the crowd that I thought everyone on the other side of the doors at the bar must have been wondering what was going on in that show. Fun played each song flawlessly. They kept their quirky feel to everything, busting out different keyboard sounds and even pulling out a trumpet at one point. It felt like a show with solid musicians who weren’t afraid to create the music they felt passionate about. It was the type of show where you sing along so loudly that you give yourself a sore throat. “Benson Hedges” live was an experience I can’t even put into words. I kept using the phrase, “They just WAILED, man,” when describing the show to friends.
The night ended with an epic, seven minute long performance of “Take Your Time (Coming Home).” The song is like a continuous story, weaving in and out of different melodies and chord progressions; from loud to soft, from whispers to yells. And when you’re left with the band playing as hard as they can and the singer mindlessly rambling, the phrase “wailing” comes back to mind. Every song in this band’s catalog has such a feel good vibe, and the fact that the crowd received the band so warmly made this show, for lack of a better word, fun. >> www.myspace.com/fun